Latest news with #VaultedDeep
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Microsoft announces deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of human waste
Microsoft has announced a deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of durable carbon dioxide removal from Vaulted Deep. The agreement, spanning 12 years from next year, involves Vaulted Deep injecting 'bioslurry' – a mix of human and farm waste – 5,000 feet underground. This method aims to permanently sequester carbon and address problematic organic waste that typically causes environmental issues above ground. The initiative is part of Microsoft 's broader strategy to offset its significant carbon footprint, which has been exacerbated by its ventures into artificial intelligence. Microsoft aims to become carbon negative by 2030 and remove more greenhouse gases than it has emitted since its founding by 2050.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft is buying tons of carbon removal from Xprize startup Vaulted Deep
Microsoft is building data centers as fast as it can, and that's killing its carbon balance sheet. Since 2020, its carbon emissions have grown by nearly a quarter, undermining the pledge it made that year to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it generates by 2030. So Microsoft has been buying massive amounts of carbon-removal credits to attempt to remedy that situation, including a newly announced purchase of 4.9 million metric tons from Vaulted Deep. Neither party disclosed the financial terms of the deal. It will last 12 years through 2028. Vaulted Deep operates like a reverse oil company. It collects solid waste — like treated sewage, excess manure, or paper sludge — that would otherwise be headed for a landfill or incinerator, blends it into a slurry, and injects it into porous rocks deep underground. The wells are drilled and pores opened using technology developed for fracking oil and gas. So far, Vaulted Deep has removed over 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The company was a runner up in the Xprize Carbon competition, and it raised a $32 million Series A in November that was led by Prelude Ventures. Recently, Microsoft has been stuck between a rock and a hard place to make good on its imperiled carbon pledge. While the tech company has been investing heavily in renewable power — avoiding emissions is considered the appropriate first step — there are some things it must use, like semiconductors, for which there are no zero-greenhouse-gas alternatives. Last year, Microsoft generated 14.9 million metric tons worth of greenhouse gas emissions, it said, more than double what it hopes to be producing in 2030, when it plans on reaching negative carbon emissions. To hit it's goal, the company has recently been ramping up its investments in carbon removal. Among them are a 7 million metric ton deal with Chestnut Carbon to reforest 60,000 acres in the Southeastern U.S. and another for 3.7 million metric tons with CO280 to capture carbon from paper mill operations along the Gulf Coast. Sign in to access your portfolio
TechCrunch
4 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Microsoft is buying tons of carbon removal from Xprize startup Vaulted Deep
Microsoft is building data centers as fast as it can, and that's killing its carbon balance sheet. Since 2020 its carbon emissions have grown by nearly a quarter, undermining the pledge it made that year to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it generates by 2030. So Microsoft has been buying massive amounts of carbon removal credits to attempt to remedy that situation, including a newly announced purchase of 4.9 million metric tons from Vaulted Deep. Neither party disclosed the financial terms of the deal. It will last 12 years through 2028. Vaulted Deep operates like a reverse oil company. It collects solid waste that would otherwise be headed for a landfill or incinerator like treated sewage, excess manure, or paper sludge, blends it into a slurry, and injects it into porous rocks deep underground. The wells are drilled and pores opened using technology developed for fracking oil and gas. So far, Vaulted Deep has removed over 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The company was a runner up in the Xprize Carbon competition, and it raised a $32 million Series A in November that was led by Prelude Ventures. Recently, Microsoft has been stuck between a rock and a hard place to make good on its imperiled carbon pledge. While the tech company has been investing heavily in renewable power — avoiding emissions is considered the appropriate first step — there are some things it must use, like semiconductors, for which there are no zero-greenhouse-gas alternatives. Last year, Microsoft generated 14.9 million metric tons worth of greenhouse gas emissions, it said, more than double what it hopes to be producing in 2030, when it plans on reaching negative carbon emissions. To hit it's goal, the company has recently been ramping up its investments in carbon removal. Among them are a 7 million metric ton deal with Chestnut Carbon to reforest 60,000 acres in the Southeastern U.S. and another for 3.7 million metric tons with CO280 to capture carbon from paper mill operations along the Gulf Coast.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Microsoft wants to use human poop to lower its vast carbon footprint
Microsoft is looking to lower its vast carbon footprint by pumping human waste 5,000 feet below the ground's surface. The tech giant hopes to offset its massive carbon footprint, only exacerbated by its ventures into artificial intelligence, by using an unusual greenhouse gas removal strategy. On Thursday, Microsoft announced a deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of durable carbon dioxide removal from Vaulted Deep. The company's 'bioslurry,' or mix of human and farm waste, is injected deep underground – in exchange for carbon credits. Microsoft's purchase will span 12 years, starting next year. For each ton of carbon they shuttle deep underground, they will receive a carbon removal credit. 'We're taking different types of organic waste,' Julia Reichelstein, the co-founder and chief executive of Vaulted Deep, told the Journal. 'It's sludgy, often contaminated organic waste that today causes problems above ground, and instead we take the waste and put it really deep underground for permanent carbon removal,' Reichelstein added. The waste used by Vaulted Deep is typically a slurry, not quite solid, liquid, or gas. Traditionally, this type of waste is difficult to treat and often ends up being left in fields, leading to nutrient runoff and the spread of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," into water systems. Vaulted Deep, however, takes the slurry and pipes it deep under natural rock formations. The company then sells carbon credits based on the amount of carbon it stores below the ground. They currently sell for about $350 a metric ton, according to the report. Companies like Microsoft, which emitted 75.5 million tons of CO2 from 2020 to 2024, hope that storing organic waste thousands of feet underground will help them meet their emission targets. Microsoft has a goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050, hopes to remove more greenhouse gases than the company has emitted since its founding. To date, Microsoft has bought many carbon removal credits. It has acquired more than 83 million tons of carbon removal, of which 59 million tons have been bought so far this year, not including the deal with Vaulted Deep, according to the report. Brian Marrs, the tech giant's senior director of energy and carbon removal, touted the investment in Vaulted Deep as being mutually beneficial. 'They're essentially taking biosolids, and much of that today is spread over fields,' he said. 'It can create nutrient [runoff] and other pollutants for watersheds, and sealing out that biosolid where it can't be a nuisance to the environment and where it will not repatriate carbon into the atmosphere – that approach, that co-benefits approach is very, very interesting to us.'
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Vaulted Deep Signs Deal with Microsoft to Remove Carbon via Waste Management Infrastructure
Agreement will scale commercial operations already delivering climate, waste, and community results HOUSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaulted Deep, a waste management company turning excess organic material into permanent carbon removal, today announced a new offtake agreement with Microsoft. Under the deal, Vaulted will deliver up to 4.9 million tonnes of durable carbon dioxide removal over 12 years through its waste management infrastructure. The agreement runs through 2038 and will allow Vaulted to rapidly expand its proven approach—already permitted, operating, and delivering measurable results—to new sites across the U.S. Vaulted removes carbon by storing organic waste that contains atmospheric CO₂ deep underground. The company partners with municipalities, industrial operators, and agricultural producers to manage their organic waste that can't be reused or safely applied to land. These waste streams include sludgy materials like biosolids, manure, paper sludge, and food and agricultural residues. Vaulted uses deep well injection to store the waste in stable geologic formations sealed by impermeable rock layers thousands of feet underground. This approach permanently removes carbon, reduces methane emissions, and helps keep trace contaminants like PFAS out of local environments. 'As carbon removal moves beyond pilots and prototypes, there is growing demand for solutions that can scale safely and address real-world problems,' said Julia Reichelstein, co-founder and CEO of Vaulted Deep. 'Vaulted offers a dual solution: it meets urgent waste management needs and drives measurable climate and public health improvements. This agreement reflects a broader shift in how carbon removal is being deployed. It is no longer limited to emerging technologies but is increasingly delivered through large-scale existing infrastructure with novel applications.' To date, Vaulted has removed nearly 18,000 tonnes of CO₂ and diverted more than 69,000 tonnes of organic waste from surface application, landfilling, and incineration. The company's methodology is certified by carbon registry Isometric, ensuring over 1,000-years of durability and that each credit reflects a scientifically validated tonne of permanent carbon removal. 'Vaulted Deep provides a differentiated, scalable approach to permanent carbon removal with low technology risk,' said Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft. 'Its work delivers immediate climate benefits while stimulating local economies and addresses long-standing environmental challenges that communities face every day. We support this solution as part of our broader effort to accelerate durable, high-integrity carbon removal.' The company is built on technology that has been safely operating since 2008 and is permitted in multiple states. Vaulted's technology was first applied to organic waste in Los Angeles, where it has handled 20 percent of the city's biosolids for the past 15 years. In Kansas, Vaulted manages 75 percent of the City of Derby's biosolids and works with a dozen local farmers to manage excess manure that can cause nutrient runoff and odor concerns—all while durably sequestering carbon that would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere. In its first 18 months of operations, Vaulted's Great Plains site created 18 full-time jobs and generated more than $5 million in local economic investment. Infrastructure upgrades completed in July will allow the facility to triple its waste processing capacity, driving additional hiring and expanding partnerships with local haulers. With over one billion tons of excess organic waste produced annually in the U.S., Vaulted is actively looking for new waste partners across industries to tackle their hard-to-manage organic waste. About Vaulted Deep Vaulted Deep provides permanent underground storage for excess organic waste that can't be reused, recycled, or safely applied to land. Using deep geologic infrastructure, the company protects local land, air, and water from potential pollutants while removing carbon from the atmosphere. Vaulted partners with municipalities, industrial operators, and agricultural producers to offer a secure, scalable alternative to surface application, landfilling, and incineration. The company offers a dual solution for carbon and waste management built on real-world infrastructure—permitted, operating, and ready to scale. Learn more at Media Contact: Brooke Kinney | [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Vaulted Deep
